Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
Meet GiGi and CC, the dynamic duo that make up We Geek Girls. Together, they blog about their adventures through geekdom—into the worlds of Doctor Who, all things Marvel, Disney, cosplay, Star Wars, geek fashion, Lego, geeky weddings, Lord of the Rings…you name it, the list goes on.
So get to know these amazing ladies and check out their interview with Being Geek Chic! They’ll tell you all about their passions, motivations, and inspirations for doing what they do.
Oh, and be sure to follow their antics on Twitter: @WeGeekGirls.
Q: How did you discover your passion for blogging about all things geeky?
GiGi: I was driving my friends crazy on Facebook with my constant geek posts, so after attending our first con in 2013, we decided to start the blog. It’s been an awesome outlet for meeting fellow geeks and to show our love of different fandoms.
CC: I had kind of a tumultuous twenties…I feel Iike I went through a major chameleon phase but thankfully, just shy of my 30th, I got back in touch with my roots (which are heavy in geekdom) and found a kindred spirit in GiGi. After about a year of liking every single thing each of us posted and shared on Facebook, we decided it would be cool to have a common place to share what we like. The result has been WeGeekGirls.
Q: Where do you find inspiration in life?
GiGi: I draw inspiration from my faith in Jesus and in just about everything around me — from art to music to nature, etc.
CC: Transparency is one of my focus words. Being vulnerable enough to share exactly what is on our minds and hearts, what we go through (no matter how wise or unwise) is a really beautiful thing. So, I guess I’m inspired by authenticity…living and loving what we want to and respecting those choices in others.
Q: If you could take any fictional character out for a drink, whom would you choose and what would you drink?
GiGi: Oh, this is a tough one. I have a whole list. I think it would be interesting to have cocktails with Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock. I want to learn the whole “mind palace” technique. Also, I think we would get along great.
CC: That is a very, very tough question…BUT since I believe he and I to be cut from the same cloth, I’d say Bilbo Baggins. We would both have a brew from the tried and true Green Dragon and we’d share stories. He would without a doubt have better ones than me ;)
Q: What would you tell your 13-year-old self?
GiGi: To break it down:
CC: I would tell her that she doesn’t have to try so hard. She is beautiful, talented and super cool! She has friendships in place that will last a lifetime and the unfailing love of her incredible family. Most of all though, I would tell her to trust her instincts, they will not fail her. :)
Q: What’s the title of your memoir?
GiGi: “A Geek Girl’s Journey Through Life”
CC: “Shut Up and Dance With Me” My motto and goal for myself this year…tune out everything that doesn’t benefit my highest self and dance with what does!!
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, dog lover, tea drinker, art appreciator, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
Say hello to Meli D. Lovio Sanchez, or, as she’s known in the Internet world, Melificent. Over on her blog, she writes about “all things fashionable, fun, festive, and fangirl.” But that’s not all. Melificent’s also a music junkie, a DIY queen, and movie fanatic (especially when it comes to discussing male leads).
Our favorite posts on her blog? We love the helpfulness of A Guide to Geeky Girl Travel (pointing out the practicality of nail decals and the power of Yelp), her interview with Zachary Quinto, and her thoughtful words on Geeky Girl Stereotypes. Basically, Miss Melificent is more than worth checking out.
Want more from this Lady Geek? Find her on Twitter (@SoMelificent), Pinterest, and read on for her interview with Being Geek Chic!
Q: How did you discover your passion to launch a geeky fashion blog?
A: I’ve always had some form of a “blog” since I was about 18 years old. I just really liked connecting with others. I started off on Livejournal, and then blogspot, before landing my own domain. At first, I just blogged about everything until I did a 30 day outfit challenge. Then I realized how popular my posts were getting. I absolutely love to express myself through fashion so I made the switch to be a primarily fashion blog. However, after some time, I came to the realization that there wasn’t enough of me injected into my little space on the blogosphere. It was becoming something I wasn’t comfortable with. I am a geeky girl, and am totally at peace with that, so why not let it shine? Now that I am posting about geeky fashion and lifestyle, I couldn’t be happier. I also find that thinking about new content is much easier because finally my blog and life are completely in sync!
Q: Where do you find your inspiration in life?
A: My biggest inspirations are music, books and poetry. I’ve always really loved music and listening to lyrics. Books have always been a huge part of my life as well. This, of course, led to me reading poetry. I just find the written word so inspiring. Most recently, Arctic Monkeys lyrics & a local Miami author, R.M. Drake, have been on my radar.
Q: When did you learn that you were “geeky”?
A: Oh man. That came at a young age. I didn’t know what the term meant yet, but I’m pretty sure when I was in Kindergarten and I was completely obsessed with My Little Pony, I had an inkling I wasn’t like the other kids. My mom would record every episode for me (on VHS, naturally) and my grandfather would buy me a new pony every week. I would line them up and just stare at them - this brought me some weird inner peace. I guess all my fandoms still do that in a way now as an adult.
Q: If you could take any fictional character out for a drink, whom would you choose and what would you drink?
A: I think I’d take Katniss Everdeen out for a drink because god knows the chick needs one or fifteen. We’d have some vodka tonics, laugh about love triangles and cry over how unfair life can be. Now that I think about it, I probably want to have this girls night with Jennifer Lawrence. Can we make this happen?
Q: What would you tell your 13-year-old self?
A: I would want myself to know that things don’t just get better: things get great. To let go of any insecurities and live life to the fullest. Don’t be afraid. Experience everything and anything you can. Your parents are not always right. Believe in yourself. Carve your own path. Listen to that inner voice. Life is beautiful.
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, dog lover, tea drinker, art appreciator, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
My amazing friend and business collaborator Megan of The Nerdy Girlie hit me up with her blogger confessions last week. To be honest, I really struggled with what to confess and so put this off. I just don’t tend to think that my personal thoughts are all that interesting. And then, hello, it struck me: write about that.
Confession #1: I’m kind of obsessed with my business, which often means my life and my blog suffer.
When I started Being Geek Chic nearly five years ago, I was pretty committed to writing at least four to five times per week. Now I’m lucky if I can get two posts up per week from my own brain. My business, Mighteor, is and has been my focus for the last two years and that means I often don’t get to my blog as much as I would like.
Confession #2: I’ve gone through a lot of changes in the last year, but I haven’t shared them on my blog because I have a hard time talking about my personal life.
So I moved across the country. Ended a long term relationship. And got a cat. I’m finally telling you that. HOLD. ON. That was hard. And that’s pretty much why I never talk about my personal life around these parts. In fact, I’m much more prone to talk about my business and recent artistic endeavors, because that is far less scary to me.
Confession #3: I take a social media hiatus every week.
I try to take a social media hiatus on Sundays, because I have honestly felt like having a phone with constant access to the world has made me less in touch with the world around me at times. Unplug and reconnect.
Confession #4: If I had to pick only one social media service, it would be Instagram.
I’m addicted. True facts. I’m @lizgiorgi if you too can’t get enough.
Confession #5: The most unexpected thing that has come out of blogging is that many of the women I have met through BGC have gone on to be amazing real life friends.
The greatest gift of this crazy internet experiment called my blog is that I have met some of the most amazing people. We have met up at Cons, our out for coffee or at concerts and there are many more who I have yet to meet in person, but I look forward to meeting some day. These are some of the smartest, most interesting women I have ever come across and I’m thankful every day.
If you’re curious about other confessions from fellow geek lady bloggers, I know Megan is compiling all these posts on the Google Plus, so if you want to read more, you should go check them out there.
I recently spoke at a journalism class at my alma mater about how I’ve used my journalism degree to make my living as a non-journalist.
I put a lot of thought into how this blog has helped me get paid freelance gigs and how my efforts to work for free on certain projects have paved the way for paid jobs. So, what seemed like the most helpful thing was working through the process in which content is made and gets seen… here’s what I gave them:
So my friends, what else do you do to use your blog to help your career?
You planned your video. You lit and shot it. Now, let’s edit!
You can try using iMovie. I’m useless when it comes to iMovie, so if you want to edit that way then best of luck! I’m going to suggest you download Final Cut Pro X from the app store. If you’ve edited with Final Cut before, you’re in for a surprise, but I think beginners will enjoy the easy layout and the color coded system.
1. Get organized: Load all your footage onto your computer. If you used a DSLR, you’ll have an SD card, which you can just drag and drop into a folder on your computer. I recommend creating a folder for all assets. Your video, your audio and your graphics. This will help you immensely when you’re making editing decisions later.
(Note: I’m not going to go step by step through each thing you need to do, because this is meant to be a high-level discussion on how to create a good video vs. a bad video.)
2. Creative media: Your media should complement one another, not compete. Make a rough cut of your video based on your original storyboard. You should also find three or four music tracks that will complement your work of art. Then, make copies of that rough cut and add a different music track to each version. Listen to the beats in the music to find natural spots to cut off certain shots. Try to find subtle ways to use the audio to your advantage. Do you have a “big” moment in the shot? Is that also represented in the audio? Then, watch all your versions back and you’ll be able to see the weaker videos in the bunch.
3. Graphically challenged: I see a lot of graphics that don’t add anything to the video you are watching. Graphics should:
a. Tell the viewer what they are going to see
b. Clarify a possible point of confusion
c. Identify a person who is speaking who doesn’t ID themselves
Make sure that your graphics do these things. If they don’t, then you don’t need them. I promise! Here’s a good example of HOW to do it.
Overall, don’t be afraid to spend the time trying things out. Try swapping out your shots. Try switching out the graphic colors. Maybe you want to break one of the rules here - go for it! But don’t be afraid to admit when it’s not working.
